U.S. says Turkey's pullout from violence-on-women treaty 'deeply disappointing'

Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention is "deeply disappointing," U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday, adding that it was a step backward for the international effort to end violence against women.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Turkey's largest cities on Thursday to protest the country's withdrawal from an international treaty to combat violence against women, a move that has drawn strong criticism from Western allies.